We were thrilled to welcome back a squad of enthusiastic Old Girls for Union High School, Graaff-Reinet’s highly anticipated annual Founders’ Weekend 𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗚𝗜𝗥𝗟𝗦 𝘃𝘀 𝟭𝗦𝗧 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 hockey match this past Friday afternoon.

It is always a privilege for our 1st team girls to kick off their year with such a fun fixture against our accomplished Old Girls

The Old Girls brought their A-game, challenging our talented school girls every step of the way. However, it was our determined 1st team who emerged triumphant, clinching a hard-fought 1-0 victory.

𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘴, 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵.

A round of applause goes to our outstanding 1st team players who received well-deserved recognition. 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝗧𝗢 Amber Slater, awarded the title of ‘Most Promising Player’, Caytah-Leigh Koeberg, securing the ‘Best Defender’ award, and Leigh-Ann Murray, claiming the top spot for ‘Best Goal.’

𝙒𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙅𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙛𝙚𝙧 𝙃𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙘𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩 – 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨.

Thank you to everyone involved for making this year’s 𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗚𝗜𝗥𝗟𝗦 𝘃𝘀 𝟭𝗦𝗧 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 hockey match an unforgettable occasion. Let the spirit and tradition continue to thrive!

Pure excitement filled the air as the u/13A and B hockey teams took center stage on Friday afternoon during Union High School, Graaff-Reinet’s annual Founders’ Weekend hockey encounters.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘴 – 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘧 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 – 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘴𝘮, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.

From dazzling stick work to lightning-fast sprints, these young hockey players and their eager parents gave it their all on the field.

But it wasn’t just about the impressive plays and intense competition. 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 – it was a mix of serious athleticism and playful camaraderie that made the matches truly special.

As the games came to and end, there were no losers on the field. Every player left with a sense of accomplishment and a deeper love for the game – a true testament to the unwavering support of the parents and the tight-knit community that surrounds these young learners.

𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙪/13𝘼 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽 𝙝𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙗𝙞𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨.

In this Dads vs Lads game, the Lads bowled first and made an immediate impact by picking up two early wickets. It was a great start for the boys that set the tone for an intense battle between bat and ball.

𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗩𝗼𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 bowled an impressive 7 overs on the trot, finishing with figures of 4-25. His consistency and accuracy posed a significant challenge for the opposing team.

Equally deserving of accolades was 𝗔𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗿𝗮, whose figures of 3-30 showcased his ability to contribute significantly to the team’s success.

Chasing a target of 130 runs to win, Union’s batsmen stepped up to the challenge with determination and skill. 𝗝𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘇 dominated the crease with a brilliant innings, smashing a well-played 50 runs.

At the other end, 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗽𝘀 displayed patience and steadfastness. Anchoring the inning, Phillips scored 32 runs not out, ensuring Union’s stability as they chased down the target.

Congratulations to the Union boys on their well-deserved victory

This past Sunday saw the Union Schools’ largest cohort of swimmers in recent years, participating in the 100th edition of the annual River Mile event.

The 𝗠𝗘𝗡’𝗦 𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗘 saw Union’s Max Price, Joshua Basson, Ben Lemke, Mark Lemke, Daniel Davenport, Daniel Marais and Danté Mills participating, while the 𝗟𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗘𝗦’ 𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗘 saw Catie Davenport, Zoë Mills, Angelique Kyanda-Kaboza, Gerda Clarke, Tyra Binney, Rebecca Copeman, Lisakhanya Zonke and Mecoli Vorster taking to the water.

𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙕𝙤ë 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚, 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 22:31 𝙖𝙣𝙙 22:25, 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮.

The day was bittersweet for two matric swimmers, Max Price and Tyra Binney, who have been competing together in the River Mile for several years. They’ll be missed next year!

𝘞𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘈𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘸𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵.

Congratulations to everyone involved!

𝗔 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:

This year’s River Mile also saw Old Unionite Brigetté Oelofsen, from the Class of 2023, joining her former schoolmates for the day. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘨𝘪𝘢, 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯’𝘴 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺.

Visit our Facebook page to view photographs of this event.

This past Sunday, 21 January, Union High School, Graaff-Reinet’s 𝗧𝗢𝗣 𝟲 senior boys’ and girls’ tennis players competed against their traditional Grahamstown rivals, St Andrew’s College, DSG, Graeme College, Victoria Girls’ High and Kingswood College.

𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 9 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 12 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘱 12, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘴, 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘪𝘹𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴.

While every member of the Union team contributed positively, special recognition must be given to the new Grade 8 additions, 𝗠𝗶𝗮 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗮 and 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻-𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗿𝘆 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴. These talented young individuals produced exceptional results by winning all of their respective singles’ encounters. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵.